HP: Gevernemnt school teacher suspended for beating Class 5 student with prickly stick

NEW DELHI: A government school teacher here on Tuesday was suspended for inflicting severe corporal punishment on a student by beating him with a prickly stick, an official of the education department said. The move comes after a video of Reena Rathore, head teacher of Government Primary School, Gawana, purportedly beating the shirtless student in her office surfaced on social media.

The video in which the boy is seen crying received backlash from social media users. According to officials, the boy is a student of Class 5 and comes from a Nepalese family. On Tuesday, the Deputy Director of Education (Shimla District) placed Rathore under suspension with immediate effect.

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Corporal punishment leads to suspension

During the suspension period, the headquarters of Rathore will be the office of Block Elementary Education, Sarahan, the order said. It has come to notice through a widely circulated video on social media that Reena Rathore inflicted severe corporal punishment on a student of the school by deliberately using a prickly stick, it said. The order added that the act is a gross violation of Section 17 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

"This conduct constitutes gross misconduct under Rule 3(1) of the Central Civil Services CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964, showing complete lack of devotion to duty and behaviour unbecoming of a government servant", the order said. This is the second suspension of teachers in the Rohru subdivision in the past four days. Last week, a junior basic training (JBT) teacher posted at a government primary school in Khorsu was suspended after he was found drunk on duty during an inspection by the sub-divisional magistrate.